Friday, October 23, 2009

There is so much talent on etsy. I just typed in jewelry and got 54,000 pages of choices and I found these 9, brand new to me, talented people and I barely scratch the surface of those 54,000 pages. I hope you enjoy the work of these talented artisans as much as I enjoyed finding them.

Monday, October 19, 2009

I promised a fellow Los Angeles Metal Clay Guild member and friend, Ming, that I would post a tutorial on how to make these cute little earring stands.

And I have not gotten around to it yet. But I plan to get to this post on Wednesday. Sorry Ming. But I did re-arrange my studio so it's a lot more user friendly.

Here's the old studio set-up.

I sat at the comfy desk chair. If I needed to enamel or solder I had to go to the other table. I also used the end of the Metal Clay table to do my sewing.

And here's the new and improved set-up.

I still sit in the comfy chair to do my Metal Clay work. But now if I need to enamel or solder I just swing around and pull the chair up to other table. And thanks to the dream team I can set up the sewing machine anywhere in the room when the sewing bug bites.

I'm also able to use the window better for my etsy photos and I think the new photos are better than the old ones. So all in all I'm very happy with the new set-up.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Super lucky. My friend and amazing artisan dona di Carlo has been cleaning out and creating a studio in her garage. A couple months ago she gave me this little beauty.

Isn't it just the cutest thing? Lucky me right?

A week or so later I'm walking my dog; this sounds like it doesn't go with the beginning of the story, but wait, it all comes together; I'm walking the dog and I come across someone giving away two cool old wooden card tables. They are in good, not great, shape but they are wood not crappy aluminum and cardboard. So Magnet and I end our walk with two wooden card tables in tow. Again lucky me. When I get the tables home I notice one has a strange cutout.

Now you see how the stories are coming together. Fast forward to Friday night and a sudden urge to sew. Out comes the card table and I figure out how to open the insert. Now I thought the opening was way to big for the little singer. But when I get it open I see that the holder is much smaller than the opening.

I cross my fingers and...It's a perfect fit.

And I mean perfect, there are even these cutouts in the sheet metal for the fly wheel and the plug.

And look at how flush it sits with the table.

One more pic just because I'm so happy about this convergence of events.

I can't believe I was given a great little sewing machine then found, on the street, the table that was designed to hold it. Again I say how lucky am I? Super lucky.

Friday, October 9, 2009

I'm about to make the most personal admission I have ever made on my blog.... I'm deeply afraid of Birds...yes even little finches scare the bejibbers out of me.

I share this because this fear informs one of my most important core beliefs. I fear birds, I don't hate birds. For many of us the things we fear become the things we dislike, or even hate. In a way I'm glad I fear birds, it gives me a chance to remember that the things I fear, or don't understand, don't have to be, or become, the things I hate. I fear birds, I don't hate birds.

Now lets look at these scary beasts.

You can find these beautiful bird creations in the following shops on etsy;

Monday, October 5, 2009

Sorry I have been MIA for the last month but I had to get ready for my very first show and it was a lot of work. As you all know.

The show went great all things considered. I thought the show was much, much, much, bigger than it was, note to self: get a second source for all numbers you get off the internet. I don't think there was any intentional deception, just an honest but vague number that could have been interpreted in many ways, and I interpreted it wrong. All part of the learning curve. The silver lining to this sad tail is that I have all the product I need to get me thru the holiday season and into the next year. I'm feeling very ahead of the game at the moment. I will be adding it all to my esty site over the next few weeks so take a look at the store when you get a chance. I'm really proud of the designs for this year's jewelry.

Enough of the nuts and bolts, lets look at some pictures.

This is the beautiful campsite I stayed at in South Dakota. I didn't get to do any hiking or horse back riding this year but next year both will be part of the plan.

This pic was taken during set-up. I could never have done the sale with out a lot of people be incredibly kind to me. I hope I remember you all here, I'm humbled by your generosity. Pam, a fellow member of the LA PMC guild loaned me the black table cloths that made up the base of my table displays.

My uncle built all the beautiful displays you see in the next pictures and mounted the beautiful root in the above picture. A ton of people said they came to look at my booth because the display looked so interesting from across the show. The booth would have been nothing with out his help and artistry. I'm just sad it all had to stay in South Dakota, I would have brought it home in a heart beat. Thank you.

Michelle at The Ornamentalist loaned me some extra pieces of leather. They really helped define the display areas and added great visual interest. Michelle also gave me support, encouragement, play dates to explore, and so very much more, thank you Michelle you are a wonderful person.

This last picture is of me making my first sale. My aunt took the picture and worked the booth with me both days. I think I totally wiped her out. She probably needed to nap for a week after I left. She also spent endless hours, and I mean endless hours, on the phone helping me organize, encouraging me to continue, and just being amazing, thank you, you mean the world to me.

Also thank you to everyone who let me pick their brains about what the heck to do. Christine at Chocolate and Steel, honestly you are an inspiration to me and I don't think I would have gotten this far without your generous flow of information. Lora Hart of Such and Such you have been so kind and giving in these months leading up to this sale, thank you. dona DiCarlo for all your positive feed back, you always gave my ego the boost it needed and it needed it, thank you.

And last but definitely not least thank you to you, my poor blog readers, for your patients with my little break. I have a ton to share, like my cute little earring displays and my fun cash wrap in a case so hopefully you will forgive me and come back for the payoff.